Q116282

Also known as (531) Zerlina, Zerlina

main-belt asteroid

Picture of the Day · NASA

Jupiter and Venus from Earth

2026-06-07

It was visible around the world. The sunset conjunction of Jupiter (left) and Venus (right) in 2012 was visible almost no matter where you lived on Earth. Anyone on our planet with a clear western horizon at sunset could see them. That year, a creative photographer traveled away from the town lights of Szubin, Poland to photograph a near closest approach of the two planets. The bright planets were then separated by only three degrees and his daughter struck a humorous pose. A faint red sunset still glowed in the background. Jupiter and Venus are together again this week after sunset, passing within a degree of each other about two days from today.

Key facts

Discovered by: M. F. Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 12 April 1904
Pronunciation: Italian: [ dzerˈliːna ]
Named after: Zerlina , Masetto's fiancée, ( Don Giovanni )
Alternative designations: 1904 NW · 1955 HA

Article

531 Zerlina, provisional designation 1904 NW, carbonaceous Palladian asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 18 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory on 12 April 1904. It is named for a character in Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni H 57).

Observations using the IRAS satellite have shown it to have an absolute magnitude of 11.8, a diameter of 15.19 kilometers, a rotational period of 16.706 hours, and an albedo of 0.1460.